Saudi delivery consolidation looms as Ninja eyes HungerStation

Published: 2026-06-09T08:44:18.000Z

Few business stories come with a twist this neat. Ninja, the Saudi quick commerce unicorn, is reportedly weighing a bid for HungerStation, the delivery platform one of Ninja's own founders built before selling it years ago. Talks are early, but the prospect alone could reshape the regional delivery scene.

Few business stories come with a twist this neat. Ninja, the Saudi quick commerce unicorn, is reportedly weighing a bid for HungerStation, the food delivery platform that one of Ninja's own founders built years ago before selling it and walking away. According to recent reporting, Ninja is considering acquiring some of Delivery Hero's Middle East assets, with HungerStation, the German group's Saudi unit, sitting at the top of the list. Talks are described as early stage, and the company may yet decide not to proceed, but the prospect alone is enough to scramble the regional delivery landscape. The reason this matters beyond the irony is timing. Delivery Hero is itself in the middle of a takeover process involving Uber, and a rival bid for its prized Gulf assets would complicate that plan considerably. Delivery Hero controls some of the strongest delivery brands in the region, including Talabat, which operates across the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and several other markets, alongside HungerStation in Saudi Arabia. Those businesses have been among its best growth engines, which makes them attractive to a buyer like Ninja and a headache for anyone trying to acquire the parent intact. Ninja is reportedly focusing first on HungerStation, partly because the Saudi unit would be easier to fold into its existing operations and would likely face fewer regulatory hurdles than a cross border grab. The personal history adds another layer. Ninja was founded in 2022 by Ebrahim Al-Jassim, who had earlier built HungerStation before a drawn out dispute ended with Delivery Hero taking full ownership in a buyout reported at close to $300 million. Al-Jassim then launched Ninja, which grew into one of HungerStation's fiercest local competitors and reached unicorn status in 2025 after raising $254 million in a round led by Riyad Capital that valued it at around $1.5 billion. Buying back the company he started would bring the saga full circle. It is worth noting that the two businesses are not identical. Ninja runs a network of dark stores built for ultra fast delivery of groceries, pharmacy items and household essentials, with food delivery a more recent addition, whereas HungerStation is a traditional restaurant delivery platform. Combining them could give Ninja both scale and a stronger food offering, though integrating different models is rarely simple. The regional read is straightforward. Saudi Arabia has become one of the most fiercely contested delivery markets anywhere, with Ninja, HungerStation, Jahez, Noon and others fighting over groceries and meals, while Vision 2030 fuels a young, digitally native population's appetite for instant commerce. Consolidation feels increasingly inevitable in such a crowded field, and a homegrown unicorn potentially absorbing a foreign owned incumbent would mark a notable shift toward local ownership of the Gulf's delivery infrastructure.